Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1173 Cai Family
Hao Zhao was watching the battle from the top of the city wall. He saw arrows raining down on the river surface. Soldiers from both sides were shot and fell into the river. The situation was slowly developing in the direction of the Yuan Xi and Liu Bei coalition forces. The deputy general next to him said, "General, do you want to go out of the city to help?"

Hao Zhao asked, "How can I help?"

"Have you got a boat?"

"And I'm sure the other side has an army lying in ambush outside the city waiting for me!"

"We are infantrymen who can only defend the city. Wouldn't it be suicide for us to go out and fight in the field?"

"Just stay in the city!"

The deputy general whispered: "If the enemy repel General Wen and turn around to surround Jiangling, then we..."

Hao Zhao sneered and said, "That's exactly what I want!"

"Given the situation in the city, we can at least hold out for a month or two. By then, once reinforcements arrive, it will be difficult for the enemy to leave!"

"When defending the city, don't be fooled by illusions. Just do what you need to do. As long as you can hold on through this month, Yizhou and Yuzhou will surely send troops. What you need to do now is to save your own life first!"

His subordinates heard this and agreed loudly.

In the distance on the river, Yuan Xi stood on the bow of the boat. Lu Lingqi beside him held a telescope and looked at the Jiangling Fangguan for a long time before saying, "I'm afraid the Jiangling defenders have no intention of leaving the city."

"After such a fight, there is no movement at the city gate. I'm afraid they are determined not to come out to rescue us."

Yuan Xi looked at the large forest in front of the city. Last night, he had asked Sun Li and Zhang Fang to lead their troops to ambush in the forest separately. But judging from the situation, they might return empty-handed. So he said, "In that case, let's give the order at nightfall and have the ambush troops return."

He suddenly paused and said, "Forget it, let them hide for two days and try their luck."

However, in the next two days, although Wen Pin's army was defeated, they still relied on the Jiangbei water fort to stubbornly resist the Yuan and Liu navy.

Hao Zhao also remained unmoved. Even when Wen Pin was in danger several times, he told his subordinates: "At worst, they can just abandon the boat and go ashore. We can still escape."

"Also, send someone to check the woods outside the city. Don't get too close."

The deputy general listened and did as he was told. He sent out a team of spies. However, one of them was shot dead just a few steps into the woods, and the rest of the spies fled back in fear.

After a while, thousands of Jin soldiers withdrew from the woods and returned to the river bank. Only then did the deputy general feel convinced. Hao Zhao sighed and said, "It's a pity that we don't have enough troops in the city. Otherwise, we can pretend to go out of the city to rescue them. When they think we have succeeded and want to attack the city, we can use ambush troops to surround them and make them suffer a great loss."

"But it's useless to say this now. After all the Jin troops have retreated, we will send spies out of the city and plant hidden stakes in the woods. By then, if they want to use the same trick again, we will be alert."

After hearing this, the deputy general immediately accepted the order.

On the boat over there, Yuan Xi said to Sun Li who had just returned, "Did you shoot the arrow?"

Sun Li's face flushed. "I saw that I was about to be discovered by the other party, so I shot it out in a hurry. I hope the lord will punish me."

Yuan Xi shook his head and said, "It's not your fault. After all, it will be exposed sooner or later."

"Where's Zhang Fang?"

Sun Li was startled. "I came back with my soldiers and saw his soldiers among them. I thought he had come out a long time ago. Did something happen?"

Yuan Xi stared at the woods in silence, then suddenly his eyes lit up and he blurted out, "Let's make the best of a bad situation. That's a good idea."

"I just don't know how long he can hide."

Sun Li then realized that the undercover operation had obviously failed, but Zhang Fang was still able to find opportunities in it. Just based on his persistence in not giving up, he was better than himself!

He turned his head and looked towards the woods. The key next step was whether the other party would send people to search the woods. If so, how long could Zhang Fang continue to hide?

Moreover, he should have only left a small group of people. Even if they can lurk for a few days, how much effect can they have?

The Jin army supported Liu Bei, and the two sides joined forces to attack Jiangling. The news that Wen Pin was struggling to stop them soon reached Yiling.

After receiving the letter, Wang Wei, the defender of Yiling City, informed Liu Cong and summoned General Huo Jun. After reading the letter, he said, "I have informed the lord of the emergency, but General Wen may not be able to stop it. Guan Yu and other generals have been dispatched on the other side."

Huo Jun said, "How about I lead the troops to rescue them?"

Wang Wei hesitated. He was an old general of Liu Biao and his official position was one level higher than Huo Jun's. However, he knew very well that Huo Jun was extraordinary. If Huo Jun helped Wen Pin defeat Liu Bei and Xiong Hu, wouldn't he be ahead of him?
Thinking of this, he said, "My lord will definitely send a fleet to help. I'm just afraid it will be too late. But you don't have much time left in command of the navy. If you fail to rescue, the situation will become passive."

"I will set out tomorrow with these one hundred warships from Yiling to rescue General Wen. I will leave five thousand soldiers for you. You just need to guard the city here."

Huo Jun's official position was lower than Wang Wei's, so he had no choice but to obey the order. He naturally knew what Wang Wei was thinking. Yiling was very safe, and it didn't matter how many soldiers were given to guard the city. The enemy couldn't defeat them anyway, but he could forget about making any contribution.

The next morning, Wang Wei led his fleet to support Wen Pin. A few days later, news of the Yuan-Liu coalition's attack on Jingzhou reached Linyuan, the capital of Wuling County. This was the temporary capital set up by Liu Cong in Jingzhou. He was panicked when he heard the news and quickly found his mother, Madam Cai, and said, "Mother, Liu Bei bullied me and even asked that fierce tiger to help me. What should I do?"

At this time, Liu Cong was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and Mrs. Cai was less than thirty years old. She was beautiful, with a slender waist and a well-proportioned figure. There were no signs of time on her face. When they stood together, they looked like siblings.

But Mrs. Cai was gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, and she had her own ideas. After Liu Biao's death, all the affairs of Jingzhou were handled by Mrs. Cai. Upon hearing this, she glared at Liu Cong and said, "Why are you panicking?"

"Let your uncle take the navy with him. They are enough to resist. Even if Guan Yu comes, what can he do? The navy of Jingzhou is no pushover!"

Liu Cong was relieved after hearing this. He rolled his eyes, and said, "Mother, I have a good idea!"

"Isn't my eldest brother stationed in Lingyang? How about letting him take a thousand soldiers and send them over to fight the fierce tiger?"

"That fierce tiger is a vicious person. He might kill our brother on the battlefield. Hehehe."

Madam Cai kicked Liu Cong hard on the leg, "You useless thing, you have become the head of the family, and now you are still thinking about internal fighting!"

"Aren't you forcing your elder brother to rebel? If he doesn't surrender to Liu Bei right away if you treat him like this, I won't be named Cai!"

"How could I teach you such a fool? Now what we have to do is to hold on to Jingzhou. As long as Cao's army wins the battle of Jizhou, they can turn around and attack the general south to help us completely destroy that fierce tiger Liu Bei!"

She was so angry that her chest kept heaving. She picked up a tube of bamboo slips and fanned her cheeks. "These few months are a matter of life and death for the Liu family. As long as you hold on until winter, Liu Bei will retreat. If Cao Cao wins, it is not impossible for you to be made a marquis or even a king in the future!"

"But don't think about doing anything weird at this time. The most important thing is to keep your eldest brother stable and let him guard the city well. Don't let outsiders criticize us Liu family for following Yuan family's internal fighting!"

"We are not strong enough to win the war, and the only thing we can rely on is our reputation. Only by pretending to be an orphan and a widow in front of the world and winning the sympathy of the nobles can we have a smooth road ahead. Do you understand?"

Seeing that Liu Cong was reluctant to agree, Mrs. Cai said, "There are many generals in Jingzhou, it's no big deal. You should be honest these days. I will go to discuss it with your uncle first."

When Liu Cong saw Madam Cai disappear in a flash, he scratched his head. He trusted Madam Cai very much, so he quickly put the matter behind him and went to the inner house to play with the maid.

However, he did not notice that when Mrs. Cai turned around and left, a solemn look appeared on her face. Because Mrs. Cai was in charge of government affairs, she naturally knew how terrible the attack of the Jin army was. They were ruthless people that even Cao Cao could not defeat!
She returned to the front hall, asked someone to find Cai Mao, told him the news of the coalition invasion, and then asked, "Brother, do you have any countermeasures?"

When Cai Mao heard that it was the Jin army, he immediately felt a toothache, "Little sister, you also know what kind of character the Jingzhou army is. Our Cao army can't beat them, and we can't beat the Wu army. How can we possibly beat the Jin army that has never lost to Wei and Wu?"

Mrs. Cai was not convinced, "Then Guan Yu also recruited soldiers from Jingzhou to train the navy, why is he so powerful?"

Cai Mao said depressedly: "That's because Guan Yu is so powerful. He is much better at commanding the army than us!"

"Brother, I have been commanding the navy for twenty years, and Guan Yu has surpassed me in less than three years!"

"He is a rare and famous general. I can't compare to him!"

Mrs. Cai gritted her teeth and said, "What should we do then?"

"Are we just waiting to be attacked and exterminated?"

"I heard that the Xiliang army massacred the village in Jizhou, and then the Jin army found my hometown in a blink of an eye, and the families of the entire city were massacred!"

"It's okay if we offend Liu Bei, but the King of Jin is a fierce god. If we fall into his hands, won't our entire clan be wiped out!"

After hearing what Mrs. Cai said, Cai Mao also became uneasy. Although he felt that Mrs. Cai was taking the matter too seriously, no one could predict such things. After all, the Yuan and Cao families were mortal enemies, and the Yuan family's revenge on the Ma family in Xiliang was evident. Who knew when this knife would fall on the Cai family's head?

He sighed, "I've said it before, surrendering to Cao Cao is not a good thing. We should have surrendered Jingzhou and gone to Xudu as hostages."

"But Cao Cao did not agree. Instead, he stationed us at the front line in Jingzhou. Isn't this clearly asking us to fight Liu Bei to the death?"

Mrs. Cai said depressedly: "What's the point of you saying this now, brother?"

"Then what was Cao Cao thinking when he only let me go to Xudu? Don't you know?"

"I would rather die here than go over there and be treated as a plaything!

After hearing this, Cai Mao muttered in a low voice: "You want to protect Cai and Liu Cong, but you can't offer anything that would interest Cao Cao. Besides, most of the women in Cao Cao's inner house are of low status. You may be able to make a name for yourself if you go there. If you are lucky, you may be able to do so."

Mrs. Cai didn't expect Cai Mao to be so blunt. She raised her eyebrows and was about to get angry, but when she thought of the current situation, her momentum weakened. She said dejectedly: "What's the point of saying this now? The fierce tiger has already come to our doorstep!"

"Brother, you can't just surrender like this, right?"

After hearing this, Cai Mao could only say, "Of course. Right now we have no choice but to go on. I will discuss with Zhang Yun and send the navy to rescue Wen Pin."

After Cai Mao left, Mrs. Cai kicked over the table in anger. The nobles in Jingzhou and even her own brother were all the same. They usually said good things, but when they met a powerful enemy that they could not defeat, they still wanted to offer their women to beg for mercy!

(End of this chapter)